Price was the main reason Pontiac sold a lot of GTOs in 1968. I went to my local Pontiac dealer in November 1967 and priced a Tempest. A 350 V8 automatic with power steering, radio and bucket seats was going to cost just over $3,300. The GTO similarly equipped was $200 more. The salesman told my wife the GTO could be ordered with the 350 so she asked how much that reduced the price. It was the same price so we got the GTO with the 350hp 400ci engine. As a bonus, an automatic GTO came with a console and the Hurst dual-gate shifter for no extra charge. I wanted an in-dash tach and my wife wanted the clock -- we compromised and got neither. You kinda had to NOT want a GTO in 1968, thus the low numbers of V8 Tempests.
Great story and great work on the paint projects.